One of the last remaining homes in the once beautiful village of New City was vandalized so badly that City of Newark officials voted to demolish this building and any others left. (Photo Ann Genader) (
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All that remains today of the long ago beautiful 13-acre model “New City” village between Route 23 and Germantown Road in West Milford is vacant land with overgrown vegetation that continues to thrive and become denser. There is no evidence that the once convenient entrance/exit road that went through the village streets to Route 23 ever existed. The site is owned by the City of Newark Watershed with no trespassing allowed. In New Jersey, entering a place where there is a “No Trespassing” sign or notice can result in 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. There are still people alive who remember “New City” when it existed, but that number is decreasing with passing years.
The village was built by Newark to house Pequannock Watershed employees and their families in 1910. There were about eight homes, a health station with a nurse assigned there, a public water system and a rural school with Eva Ackerman Hennion teaching all eight grades. Workers who lived in the homes included those employed at the chlorine plant to assure that the water being sent to the city was pure. Other workers included uniformed watershed guards who patrolled in pickup trucks. They arrested trespassers and addressed situations that indicated possible dangers to the city water supply.
Eventually times changed and homes for watershed employees were no longer needed. The houses were uninhabited. Trespassing, arson, vandalism, illegal dumping and more problems soon existed.
In 1992, West Milford officials saw the historic value in the remaining buildings and designated the village as a landmark. TAMS Consultants Inc. prepared a Historic Preservation Plan for West Milford and recommended that a National Register designation be pursued. Company representatives suggested that the township actively investigate a rehabilitation program with Newark to ensure continued use of the buildings, seeing no benefit to leaving them vacant. It was recommended that a new zone be created for New City with a companion zoning ordinance.
Following the consultant’s recommendation, the Township Council adopted The New City Historic Preservation Zone and Development Ordinance on Dec. 7, 1994. There was never a New City historic designation on the state or national registers of historic places. In 1996 the Echo Lake Festival of the Arts Group formed. Turning New City into a craft village – much like Sugar Loaf in New York State or Smithville in South Jersey was suggested.
In 1996, the West Milford Council, agreeing with those who saw tourism as a means of helping the local economy, adopted an ordinance to allow the existing New City buildings to be turned into bed and breakfast inns. West Milford officials told Newark that under the designation as property owner it was Newark’s legal responsibility to maintain the buildings. Apparently that announcement was not well received. The final say about building use was up to Newark. They voted to demolish the buildings. One by one the structures had disappeared, often by fire of unknown origin. When only three remained, the township gave Newark permission to remove what remained. In 2005, the property was cleared. In 2009 the interior road into the community was blocked at the Germantown Road entrance.
